A Data-Driven Approach for Generating Vortex-Shedding Regime Maps for an Oscillating Cylinder

Abstract

This study presents a data-driven approach for generating vortex-shedding maps, which are vital for predicting flow structures in vortex-induced vibration (VIV) wind energy extraction devices, while addressing the computational and complexity limitations of traditional methods. The approach employs unsupervised clustering techniques on subsequences extracted using the matrix profile method from local flow measurements in the wake of an oscillating circular cylinder generated from 2-dimensional computational fluid dynamics simulations of VIV. The proposed clustering methods were validated by reproducing a benchmark map produced at a low Reynolds number (Re = 4000) and then extended to a higher Reynolds number (Re = 10,000) to gain insights into the complex flow regimes. The multi-step clustering methods used density-based and k-Means clustering for the pre-clustering stage and agglomerative clustering using dynamic time warping (DTW) as the similarity measure for final clustering. The clustering methods achieved exceptional performance at high-Reynolds-number flow, with scores in the silhouette index (0.4822 and 0.4694) and Dunn index (0.3156 and 0.2858) demonstrating the accuracy and versatility of the hybrid clustering methods. This data-driven approach enables the generation of more accurate and feasible maps for vortex-shedding applications, which could improve the design and optimization of VIV wind energy harvesting systems.